Virginia Homeowner Says Neighbor Illegally Cut Down 89-Year-Old Oak Tree On His Land — Then Had the Nerve To 'Demand' He Pay Half The $2k Bill

Ivy Grace

Sun, Jul 13, 2025, 3:30 PM 3 min read

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Property lines. Trees. Sheds. Throw in a chainsaw and a misinformed neighbor, and you've got the kind of backyard drama that makes every homeowner sweat.

One Virginia homeowner turned to Reddit's r/TreeLaw subreddit to share what he described as a blatant tree-cutting disaster involving a new neighbor who apparently didn't know where the property lines were — and still hasn't apologized for the damage.

"Neighbor had no idea where the property lines are, and cut down my healthy 89-year-old oak because he didn't like trees being near his shed," he wrote.

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Things escalated quickly. After the homeowner pointed out the clearly marked property stakes — showing that the tree was roughly forty feet into his yard — the neighbor doubled down.

"Then, upon my pointing out the property stakes he missed — showing that it was about forty feet into my property — he switched to demanding I pay half the $2K he spent to have it cut down," the Redditor explained. "Yeah."

The homeowner said he was just grateful he looked out his back window in time to stop the workers from cutting down an adjacent oak. Still, the damage was done.

"That stump is 89" in circumference, by the way," he added.

In true TreeLaw fashion, he came prepared. He documented the scene with before-and-after photos, filed a police report, contacted a tree lawyer, got his wife's account in writing, reached out to an arborist, and even notified the property manager next door — because yes, a few trees from that property were allegedly taken down too.

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He also noted that Virginia allows triple damages for timber trespass, and made it clear: he's pursuing it thoroughly.

The story blew up in the comments. One Redditor put it bluntly: "That guy's gonna have to give your kids a free ride to college on his dime."